Chapter Field Trip – April 5, 2025
On April 5, 11 members of the Central Highlands chapter of Arizona Master Naturalists enjoyed an exploratory field day, led by Dr. Gary Beverly. We enjoyed a long day of learning many new things – meeting up in Chino Valley at 10 am to carpool and wrapping up about 4 pm. Our leader, Dr. Gary Beverly, is the chairperson of the Yavapai Group of the Sierra Club and the chairperson of the Executive and Public Policy Committee of CWAG (the Citizens Water Advocacy Group). We were very fortunate to have Dr. Beverly leading this trip to provide his expertise on this critically important part of our watershed; he is incredibly knowledgeable about all things concerning the conservation of the Verde River, its history, and its changing ecology.
We stopped first at what will be the entrance to the new State Park in Chino Valley, glimpsing several historical buildings and an old Bald Eagle nest. Then we stopped at Sullivan Dam (river mile zero) at the Sullivan Lake area in Big Chino Wash where we spotted some Pronghorns. During the stops, Gary shared several maps and illustrations to detail how the plans for the State Park came about, and he described the flow patterns of the Verde watershed. This helped us understand “the big picture” and how this part of the Verde is connected to everything else, all the way up to Highlands/PNF, all the way over to Verde Valley, and beyond. Then we drove to the headwaters trailhead (where there’s actually a sign!), at the AZ Fish & Game Upper Verde River Wildlife area. The path we used to get down to the river was gravelly but not terribly steep, and it afforded expansive views; we even spotted some ancient hilltop sites on the surrounding buttes.
This trail comes out at about “mile 3” on the river. We learned that the several springs that feed the headwaters actually span about 9.8 miles altogether. The riparian forest at the river’s edge was just beginning to hint of spring leaf-out and a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets darted about looking for insects while we had lunch at a big fallen log and began to tell stories! Each of us had planned a “one-minute story” on a topic concerning the Upper Verde — for example, Michael R deciphered the sometimes confusing terminology associated with invasive, exotic and non-native plants, Marcel shared fascinating information on the indigenous peoples of the Verde watershed, Mary O. introduced us to the fish species that are native to the river, etc. The story-sharing paved the way for an enlightening, open discussion concerning land use, our old and new insights about the importance of this area, and how we might compel other people to care.
After lunch, Gary took us to a beaver dam and along the path we found tracks, which we were pretty sure were made by a mountain lion!
It was a wonderful day of making connections with other naturalists while we were immersed in thinking about the interconnectedness of the Verde River and the ecosystems of the Central Highlands that depend on it.
